Oceanside Collegiate Academy Rugby Club

After years of considering the inclusion of rugby as a sport at Oceanside Collegiate Academy in Mt Pleasant, the decision was made at the end of 2021 to add rugby as a fully supported club sport at the school for both boys and girls. 

The addition of Oceanside Rugby Club in Mt Pleasant is one step closer to rebuilding what used to be a vibrant local high school rugby competition in the greater Charleston area. Prior to the pandemic, there were 4 rugby programs in the Charleston area (some with multiple teams each!) and 10 in the state.  By the end of the pandemic, sadly only two remained in South Carolina (Wando and Greer).  

Oceanside Rugby started with 13 boys and 13 girls in December 2021 and played in the North Carolina high school league.  The boys team is coached by Guy Vorster and Seth Strauss (owner of Ideal Posture and Spine chiropractic clinic) and the girls team by Gregg Lambton-Carr (owner of City Lights Coffee Shop and GreggLC Photography) 

Oceanside started its rugby journey with only 2 boys and 1 girl who had any prior rugby experience.  By the end of their inaugural season, not only had the new players fallen in love with the game, but the the Oceanside Rugby program enjoyed much success including:

    • The boys team winning their division at the famed Ruggerfest tournament in Charlotte NC going 4:0 against stiff competition.
    • Four boys being picked to represent select teams (USA South Panthers and EIRA) at Tropical Sevens in Tampa FL and North American Invitational Sevens in Salt Lake City.
    • Two boys being picked to represent USA South Panthers in the Rugby Americas North tournament in Jamaica (which the Panthers won!) but unfortunately only one of the boys could attend due to passport issues with the other.
    • Two boys selected to represent the first ever Rugby ATL U-18 Academy team to compete in a tournament in Austin TX. 
    • Four players (two boys and two girls) received scholarships to play rugby in college (Queens University in Charlotte NC, Cardiff Met in Wales and Newberry College SC).

This is testament to the level of dedication and athleticism shown by the students across the board to quickly learn and excel at a new sport.

 

The Post and Courier and Moultrie News featured articles about the rugby program at Oceanside.